


Things with Crypt in their names are usually dangerous. Right?

by TigerNightCat



Series: Final Fantasy Shifters AU [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Gen, Mentions of Slavery, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Press and Tabloids, mentions of abuse, teenagers being teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 17:49:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20800499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerNightCat/pseuds/TigerNightCat
Summary: Cor found something or someone and put it on Clarus's desk and then promptly left the city. Will Clarus need to get revenge on Cor for this? Or is it a good thing?





	1. Is revenge necessary?

**Author's Note:**

> This happens in the same AU and timeline as the shifters but it's from Clarus's point of view.

There was a giant cotton ball on his desk. There was a giant cotton ball with feathers sticking out of it on his desk. Why was there a giant cotton ball with feathers sticking out of it on his desk?

“Maya. Why is there a giant cotton ball with feathers on my desk?” Clarus called out to his secretary from the doorway to his office. There were eyes staring out at him from the giant cotton ball with feathers on his desk.

“Commander Leonis left that on your desk Sir. He didn’t say what it was or why he left it.” His secretary called back to him from her desk.

Cor? He would be the type to leave a giant cotton ball on his desk as a joke, but this one had eyes. Why did it have eyes? “Get Leonis up here, now please, Maya.” He wanted answers and he wanted them now.  


He walked slowly into his office. His hand on his weapon just in case, but the cotton ball with feathers didn’t move. It just trembled slightly as the human approached it and tried to look even smaller than it already was. “What are you? Animal or Shifter?” He asked quietly not expecting an answer.

It would be like Cor to leave a wild animal on his desk without any explanation, but he usually didn't do it unless he knew only Clarus would be in the room. The door was wide open when he got there and other non-combatants were around. So not dangerous? Mostly?

“Sir. Commander Leonis states he is already out of the city and will not be returning to help you. He said all the answers you need are in his report on the desk, under the Crypt Bunny. He also says, and I quote, Good Luck.”

“Crypt Bunny? Those are supposed to be very aggressive. Thank you Maya.” Clarus closed the door then knelt down in front of his desk getting a closer look at the ball of fluff. The giant ball shrunk down further and trembled harder. A small scared whine started coming from it. The thing was terrified but it wasn't moving forward or away.

“Shhh. Shhh. It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you. Can you understand me?” The shield asked quietly trying not to scare the animal any further. He got a small nod in reply. “I’m going to touch you. I need the file that’s under you.”

He reached out slowly giving the creature plenty of time to get away if they had to. It didn't run. It stilled, eyes wide, watching the man. When he started putting pressure on it’s sides to pick it up the little cotton ball let out a pained squeal. Clarus was startled and let go immediately.  _ What happened? I didn’t grab it too hard I don’t think. _

He looked closely at the animal and finally saw why it had cried out like that. There, on it’s side, was a red spot on it’s fluff. The spot looked like it hurt. It seemed like it was almost as big around as the creature’s body would be if there wasn’t any fluff. He cooed at the animal softly. “What happened to you sweety? That looks painful.”

Grabbing supplies from the cabinet behind his desk he quickly and efficiently cleaned and bandaged the poor animal’s wounds. The cotton ball looked ridiculous with the huge cotton poof around either side of the bandages, but it was clean and covered. “There. That should start feeling better for you soon.”

When he didn't receive even a twitch in response, he took a closer look and saw the cotton ball had fallen into an exhausted sleep in his hands. The thing was so small compared to him. It fit comfortably in his arms, no longer than his forearms. The tail poof was white and larger than the creatures main body and the ears had little white cotton balls on them about the size of his palms. The feathers were actually extensions for its ears and were a gentle brown turning a dusty red near the ends. Their eyes were large in comparison to its head and were a deep gemstone red from what he remembered. The poor thing was so soft in his arms and he didn't want to disturb the rest it so very much needed.

He settled down onto his chair letting the creature snooze on his one arm cradled to his body. He opened the file with his free hand and started reading. It seemed this creature was a small shifter that Cor had found on his last black market raid. She, as far as Cor and his men could figure, was not part of the actual inventory seized during the raid, but was found hiding in the storage shed. She refused to turn back to human but that was understandable as it looked as if she had been hurt by one of the feral inventory. There was no indication of a control collar on her so it was to be assumed she was an undocumented shifter. Despite being shifted into an extremely aggressive species she gave no indication of aggression of any type, she hadn't even made any noise when they caught her.

He paused in his reading to look down at the little crypt bunny female. “Where did you come from, little one?” He gently scratched her head and was surprised when she made a soft sound and snuggled deeper into the crook of his arm.

**********

A small murmur of sound had him glance up and look over at the nest he had made on the couch in his office. The little female had been placed gently in the center of a pile of blankets and pillows Clarus had raided from the other offices around his own. The owners looked at him funny but hadn't asked any questions. Sometimes recruits had fallen asleep in his office after a hard day so it wasn't completely out of character for this, just odd that he'd taken so many.

“Good afternoon dear. You feeling better?” He didn't actually expect an answer and smiled when a small nod was sent his way. “That's good. Feel up to shifting back?” A small shake of her head and she ducked down a tiny bit further into the makeshift nest.  


Hmm. This was going to be difficult then if she refused to turn back. Usually pets would do so at the order of their master or other humans of authority. Since this one didn't have a collar she probably wasn't trained to follow orders. He wasn't a monster though. Yes he wanted answers but he wasn't going to threaten her or demand she Change. A thought crossed his mind and he wondered if she even knew how to Change. He knew some stress shifters didn't know how and had to be walked through becoming human again. Maybe he should get Lilliana or one of the others to help him. No, he could figure this out himself. He knew where to find them if he absolutely needed to.

“That's ok for now. You can answer my yes or no questions. You'll answer the more complicated questions when you Change back. Understand?” The bunny nodded at him. “Alright. First question. Are you hungry or thirsty?” - nods - “Good. There’s a plate to your right. And a bowl on the floor. If you Change back I’ll get you a glass.” Before he finished his sentence one of the carrots disappeared and only the sound of crunching nibbles could be heard. “I will take that as I chose correctly. Glad you like it. You can have it all.”

“Now to clarify. You are a shifter? -nods- You are female?” He received no reaction to that so maybe change the wording. “Are you a girl?” -nods- “Do or did you have an owner of some kind?” -shakes head- “Have you ever had a control collar on?” -shakes head- Interesting. She must be a new shifter and not a runaway one. He continued on with his interrogation, if you could call it that. It was pretty adorable watching the little bunny nod and shake it’s head to every question. When she didn’t know the answer she would tilt her head to the side and look at him wide eyed. He may have asked some questions just to get that look from her, but he would never admit to that. Eventually he called an end to the questioning. She had been falling asleep while watching him and he didn’t want to force her to stay awake. He watched her snuggle down deeper into the makeshift nest and fall asleep.

He sat back and steepled his hands in thought. He actually hadn’t learned much from the questioning so far. She was a teenager and an actual runaway but that was the only substantial thing he learned. After she changed back he would get more information out of her but for now. It wasn't that important. She didn't seem to have any agenda other than getting better at the moment.

Cor was going to pay for leaving this fluff on his desk and then bailing.

While the bunny slept, he had a large, heavy, shifter-proof cage brought up to his office. He didn't know how tall the girl would be when she Changed so he made sure it was over seven feet tall. It would stand in the corner and be just wide enough for an adult human male to sit down with their legs out straight. He wasn't very worried about her Changing and needing the room though, she seemed to prefer being in her animal form. At least so far.  


After talking with the men who were to install the cage he went back into the room and picked up the little shifter. She started awake and struggled in his grip. For a shifter, even as small as she was, she was weaker than he had ever imagined. She was either literally a new shifter or she was hurt more than he had originally thought. He shushed her gently and she calmed down when she realized it was just the big human holding her.

He held her firmly while staying out of the way of the working installing the cage. She stared at it, wide eyed, trembling slightly in his arms. One of the workers eyed her on his way out after finishing. Clarus barked at him to keep moving and to keep quiet about this. He wasn't ready for the Citadel gossip to descend upon him yet.

After the final person had left, he started moving all the pillows into the cage. It had a built in shelf for bowls so he moved the ones from the couch into their places. Finally he placed the shifter down in the center of the pillows and closed the door, making sure it was locked and he had the key.

"You're going to stay here for the night. The bars are shifter-proof so it won't do you any good to try and get out. I'll be back in the morning. Understand?"

The little shifter watched him silently until he finished then she nodded once. She snuggled down into the pillows a bit, continuing to watch him. It was almost unsettling the way she just watched him with those ruby eyes of hers. He shook it off and went to the door. Taking one look back at the shifter, he turned off the lights and shut the door, locking it behind him.

It was late and everyone had already gone home. They usually did because he would spend long hours doing paperwork after a day full of meetings and training. He would rarely arrive at home on time for dinner.

The Amicitias lived in a mansion on the citadel property, off the beaten path. It wouldn't be good if the King's Shield couldn't protect his charge because of traffic. So it was a quick walk home in the night air. His daughter, Iris, met him at the door when she heard it open. His son, Gladiolus, lived in the Citadel in a room close to his own charge, the Crown Prince.

"Hey dad. Welcome home. What's wrong? You look stressed." Iris observed in that blunt way that only teens can do.

"Hello dear. It's nothing. Cor just left me a headache to deal with on my desk before he left the city. How was your day?" He toed off his shoes and led the way to the kitchen. Jared was on top of things, as always, and had left out a still warm dinner for him on the table.

Iris bounced in her seat excitedly, "It went great! I beat Lilly without any help today and she said she didn't hold back as much as usual."

"Congratulations! You have been trying to get her to use her full strength lately. You'll be there in no time. Keep up your training and you'll be stronger than her before you know it." Lilliana was the strongest shifter he had ever fought against so he knew how much she held back when fighting humans. It was doubtful Iris would get her to reveal her full strength any time soon, even Regis couldn't get her to do that. Clarus himself made her use her full power regularly but only because his experience put her against a wall in tactics and she had to use her strength to get him to give her breathing room. It was a good experience for his daughter though. A soldier always needed to train against tougher opponents to continue to grow. His daughter was a daemon on the training field and he encouraged her to get as strong as she possibly could. Amicitias were not weak. "How did you do it? Try a new tactic against her?"

They talked about strategy and form for a while, Clarus giving advice and suggestions here and there.

"Soooooo." Iris dragged the word out as only a sixteen year old could. "You said Cor left you a headache? Is it something you can talk about? Or is it a state secret that I don't need to know about?"

He chuckled, "Can't put anything past you can I? No, it's not a secret. He left an undocumented shifter on my desk this morning. She doesn't seem to be a run away as it doesn't look like she has an owner, but she did run away from home."

"An undocumented shifter? That's not very nice of him was it? And a female? What type is she? How old? Where did she come from?" Iris fired questions at him in rapid succession.

"I'm not entirely sure. She hasn't Changed back to her human form yet, she's too scared to it seems. I'll have to figure out a way to get her to so I can get answers though. She's in a cage in my office at the moment. I don't want to put her in the dungeons or a farm until I know more."

"Can I come see her? Maybe she will Change if there's another girl around. You're not exactly all flowers and moogles, dad."

"I'll think about it. You have school tomorrow though and it's getting late. Off to bed with you." He shooed her out of the room towards the wing of bedrooms. She protested hard, as was mandatory of the teenage race, and left the room for bed.

The next morning saw Clarus staring at the cage in his office in confusion. Everything inside had moved. When he had left, it was a pile of pillows and blankets with an indent in the middle where he had placed the bunny shifter. Today though, there was a cave with the pillows as the walls, a few blankets on top as the roof and also draped over the front forming a door flap. It was essentially a rabbit sized tent.

He crouched down in front of the cave and tried to see past the flap. It had a small opening and he could see a ruby eye staring back at him from the inside. She nosed the flap open and stuck her head out the door to look at him. Her little nose was wiggling a mile a minute sniffing the air. Clarus could barely hold back a noise of delight but he did so. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

"Morning girl. You ready to Change back and talk to me yet?" She shook her head at him then shrunk down partially back into her house a tiny bit. "I'm not mad at you don't worry. I see you moved things around. You feeling better today?" She nodded slightly and emerged from her house slightly. "Good. time to change those bandages. You wanna come out so I can do that?"

He watched as she slowly made her way out of the house and into the small open area in front of it. He stood up and unlocked the door, opening it slowly. He reached down and picked up the little shifter carefully so he didn't hurt her accidentally. He marvelled again at how small she was. Placing her carefully on the desk she shook herself out and started exploring her surroundings. She put her head in his empty coffee cup, picked up his pencils, and generally just looked adorable while moving. She looked like she was moving easier today, which was a good thing.

He let her explore for a few more minutes then reached over and started to remove the bandages. She stood up straight on her back legs, little front paws in the air, helping him by standing still. He unwrapped and rewrapped her quickly with a quick inspection in between. "Looking much better today. You seem to be healing fast."

She put her paws down and sat looking at him. "What? Stop looking at me like I'll eat you. You probably taste like salad." Clarus teased with a smirk. He was rewarded with a tiny tremble and a paw covering her tiny mouth. He got her to smile and laugh. Small win to start the day off right. "Let's get you fed and settled again. I have meetings all day so I won't be in here much, but I will come by and check on you as often as I can. Understood?"

He received a small nod from the shifter, then moved her bowls from her cage to the desk. Filling them with the fresh fruit and vegetables Jared had somehow known he needed. He watched as she tentatively ate, the only sound in the room was the crunching coming from her.

After she finished, he replaced and refilled the bowls then placed her gently in the cage as well. She glanced at him once and then slipped back into her tent, watching him close and lock the cage from a slit between the blankets.

It was a long day, mostly due to Claurs having to constantly dodge Regis's questions about the shifter in Clarus's office. Waving to Maya, he unlocked his office door and walked in on his daughter sitting on his couch, with the shifter sitting nervously on her lap.

"Dad! Come in slower. You scared Miyuki." Iris admonished her father.

"Iris! How did you get into my office and unlock that cage without the keys? She could be dangerous. Wait. did you say Miyuki?"

"Daaaaad." Iris dragged the word out into multiple syllables. "She's only thirteen and her name is Miyuki. She couldn't hurt me. Do you wanna show him?" She asked the bunny on her lap. "I mean it when I said he's a good guy. He won't be mad at you for any reason. Right dad?"

Both girls looked at him and he nodded slowly. Closing the door behind himself just in case. "I'm not mad at either of you. Just surprised that my daughter could pick locks better than I remember her being able to." He stayed near the door so as to not crowd the girls. If Iris could get the shifter to talk, great. He was going to have a long talk with her about picking locks though, later.

The bunny trembled but at Irir's gentle encouragement, she slowly moved to an open couch cushion. He had seen shifters Change thousands of times over the years and each time was as impressive as the last. This Crypt Bunny was no different. Her feathered ears melted into long, smooth, and soft brown hair. Her white cotton fluff formed into a simple shift covering her tall and lanky frame. She was almost a foot taller than Iris was if their heights just sitting on the couch was this noticeable. The thing that caught his attention though was here eyes. They were just as deep and clear a red as they were in her animal form. Those large eyes blinked at him in uncertainty.

"Dad, meet Miyuki. Miyuki, my dad, Clarus." Iris piped up happily, shaking Claris out of his thoughts.

"Hello Miyuki, It is very nice to meet you." He walked closer slowly. Trying to not be intimidating. He crouched in front of the two girls.

Miyuki ducked her head and peeked out at him from behind the waterfall of her hair. She squeaked out something that he translated to mean hello and Iris put a hand on the girl's leg supportively. "See? He's not mean. Just scary." He heard a small giggle from the young girl.

"How are you feeling, dear? Anything hurt still?" He asked gently. She tensed and stilled as he looked her up and down. The barest shake of her head was his only answer. He nodded slowly. "If anything does, please tell me so I can take a look. I don't want you hurting if I can help it." With each word he saw her draw into herself a little more. Something about that set off red flags in his mind if he ever found who made her so afraid, they wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

"I know. Let's go get some food. It's been a long day and the stuff I gave you earlier should not have lasted this long. Did you want to go somewhere? Or should I ask Maya to bring us something from the kitchens?" He looked over at her cage to check if his suspicions were correct. Her bowls were practically untouched except for what he remembered her munching on before he had closed the door again. Looking back to the girls he saw Iris glaring angrily at the bowls. He'd have to get the reason out of her later but she shook her head at him when she caught him looking at her in question.

"Miyuki loved those strawberries you gave her earlier, right Miyuki? Maybe ask Maya to get some more up here for her?" Iris suggested, watching Miyuki more than anything else.

He nodded and slowly got up off the floor. He glanced back when he got to the door to see one ruby eye watching him intently. He smiled and left to go talk to his secretary.

When he returned, Miyuki was back in her animal form. Iris informed him she stressed too hard and Changed. He nodded in understanding and started asking her about her day and training. He noticed when the bunny perked up at the mention of any of the other shifters, so he tried to steer the conversation to tell her more about the Citadel shifters and their rag tag little pack. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, there were no other shifters younger than eighteen in the building. Regis made sure everyone under eighteen went to classes whether the shifters were human or not. The council disagreed with the King, as usual, but Regis put his foot down. No one would be held back because they couldn't read or write under his watch. He couldn't make it a law for the city, but he did make it a requirement to work in the Citadel. It was all paid for, so the owners couldn't grumble about that part at least.

The food arrived and Iris fed the little rabbit veggies while talking. Eventually Miyuki relaxed enough to Change back to human. She slowly and carefully ate one bit at a time, as if everything might be taken away from her if she had too quickly. Both humans tried to get her to join in the conversations but to no avail. He made sure Miyuki at everything that was brought up before even thinking of asking her personal questions. He wasn't a monster, but he did have a job to do.

"Miyuki, I need you to answer some questions for me. Similar to the ones I asked you yesterday. Do you want Iris to stay here with us while we talk?" She gave a small not at his question. "Alright. You can say you don't know or understand my questions, but I need you to answer the best you can. Now how old are you?"

They continued on for a long time. Miyuki answering to the best of her ability. There weren't many questions she couldn't answer thankfully and Clarus got all the information about her past that he could. He did determine that he was going to never hand her back to that family if he could help it. He would get Regis involved if he had to. For now though, the girl looked exhausted. "Alright my dears. I think I have everything I need. You, Miyuki, look ready to fall asleep right here. Time for bed for you."

The girl blinked at him, her head practically on Iris's shoulder. Without a word, she Changed, startling a gasp from Iris. He picked up the sleepy bunny and settled her gently in the cage, closing and locking the door after she shuffled into her tent.

Iris protested his actions quietly but he just pushed her out of the office. "Yes she's a young girl, but she's still a shifter and an unknown. I'm not going to risk you or Jared just because she seems innocent enough. I will be back in the office early enough in the morning. She will be fine until then. And before you ask. No. You may not see her in the morning. You have school. Bed for you too."

They all settled into a routine of sorts. Clarus checking in on Miyuki in the mornings before running off to attend meetings and ceremonies with the King for the day. Then returning as soon as he could to let her out to run around while he finished paperwork for the day. Iris would show up as often as she could, but never stayed long because of homework, sports, and training. Miyuki never Changed back into her human form unless Clarus or Iris asked her to and neither did very often. They both understood the young girl felt safer in her animal form and didn't push it.

Regis finally got details out of shield and practically demanded to meet Miyuki. The little bunny hid behind Clarus's legs when Regis first came into the room. He was surprisingly good with children and animals though, and soon the little shifter was stealing carrots out of his hands and eating them behind the safety of Clarus's legs. Regis was enamoured with the little pet right away and agreed with Clarus she wouldn't go back to her previous home after hearing the answers from her interview. His suggestion was to find her family, observe, and then ask (ie. demand) for custody of the little girl. "Who would deny the King's shield?"

Clarus saw the appeal of this, but she was a minor, shifter or not. It was her parents' choice.

Miyuki actually made the choice for him one day. He was giving the annual reviews for his men with the bunny shifter sitting on his desk, watching the proceedings with a bowl of vegetables near her for her to munch on. (She couldn't seem to break the habit of only eating with him in the room with her as much as he tried to get her to do otherwise). She would sit there and munch quietly on her food, never reacting to any of the men until one in particular.

Clarus felt her still under his hand and her ears pulled in tight to her skull even before the guard captain came into the room. When the man did come into the room, she flattened herself to the desk as much as she could and tried to slink backwards. Unfortunately she was already at the edge of the desk and her foot slipped off, forcing her to scramble for purchase. This drew the attention of the man who narrowed his eyes at her, then widened them in recognition. They narrowed once again, but this time in anger. The captain must've forgotten where he was because he took two steps forwards and reached for Miyuki when Clarus's hand grabbed the man's wrist in a firm grip.

If you asked Miyuki later what happened, her answer would always be simply that her human saved her. What actually happened was more Clarus stopped the man from grabbing her and asked if the man knew the bunny. "She's just some animal that ran away from my home. I'll take her home and make sure she stays there this time."

Clarus politely removed the man from his office and straight into the brig's medical ward, filling out the correct paperwork for him to have an extended stay, in triplicate as was protocol. While he was there, he had the man sign over all rights to Miyuki. He handed the papers over to Maya on the way back into his office, to be filed with the proper agencies the next day. Miyuki would never go back to that household ever again.

He found Miyuki shivering under his desk, watching the door intently. He knelt down and heald a hand out, calling out to her softly. He had to wait a long moment for her to approach but he wasn't going to force her to come out if she didn't want to.

He watched her creep slowly from under the desk and rub against his out streached hand. Crooning sweet nothings to her, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. He will never be back and certainly will never get near you again. Let's go home. I know a certain teenager who has grown quite fond of you and would love spoiling you rotten."

He certainly would have to get Cor back for leaving this cotton ball on his desk all those weeks ago. Just maybe with a basket of flowers instead of a punch to the jaw.


	2. The Great Cake Debacle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Clarus's birthday soon. It will be one to remember, for one reason or another.

He was doomed. Cor was never going to let him live this down. "This" being Clarus laughing so hard he could barely stand. His adorable, sweet, kind, and charming crypt bunny shifter had been trying to secretly bake him a cake for his birthday with his loving daughter. The problem was, any noise would make her jump and she had dropped the bowl of flour just right to have it explode in a cloud of white. The flour was everywhere. On their hair, clothes, skin, the counter, the floor, and even the ceiling lights somehow. They looked like ghosts and were both blinking owlishly at him. It was too much for even him to be quiet about.

It took him nearly ten minutes to calm down because each time he looked at them it triggered a new round of laughter. By the time he could breathe normally again, the citadel kitchen staff had arrived and started to clean the girls up.

Iris accepted their help gladly. Miyuki, not so much. She shied away from the staff so much that Clarus felt the need to intervene. He scooped up the young girl in his arms and smiled up at her. She was a tall, lanky, 6'3", but he lifted her up easily. She weighed practically nothing even though she ate almost constantly. He figured it was part of her shifter metabolism.

Iris moved over to their side and followed the two out of the kitchens to the disappointed giggles of the staff. They loved when Iris was around, and seeing Clarus smiling so broadly was a treat in and of itself. They did wonder who the young girl was though. They had never seen Miyuki in her human form and Clarus and Iris had never said her name around them, so rumors and speculations flew in their wake of the kitchen incident. Clarus was seen several more times with the young girl, but none of the staff could figure out who or what she was to Clarus and Iris.

"Dad? You might want to talk to your PR team at work. There's some strange articles going around different magazines the past few days." Iris told her dad at breakfast one morning. "I haven't seen they yet, but my friends keep asking me if I have an illegitimate sister or a new mom I haven't told them about. I've told them no on both accounts, but they don't seem to believe me."

Clarus nearly choked on his coffee, "I'm sorry, What? New mom?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure either. Let me look it up." Iris pulled out her phone and started typing away and poking at the screen. Clarus knew how smart phones worked, he just wasn't as quick as his daughter at it.

He waited patiently while she worked her magic and then nearly choked on his coffee again when she showed him the search results.

**Illegitimate Daughter of the King's Shield?** Does the King's Shield, Clarus Amicitia, have a child that even the King doesn't know about? A young girl has been seen with the Shield many times that he has been very secretive about…..  _ NewSun.com _

**New Daughter or New Pet?** Clarus Amicitia, the King's Shield, has been seen with a teenage girl at times around the Citadel. The Shield has also been seen with a rabbit pet of some kind while working. The girl has no collar but….  _ InsomniaEnquirer.com _

**Does Our King's Shield Have a New Bride?** The age of marriage in Insomnia is 18 as everyone knows, but the age of marriage in our neighboring Niflheim is 14. Did the Empire of Niflheim give our Shield a bride as part of the terms of the peace treaty?.....  _ Insomniac.com _

There were also pictures of him with Iris and Miyuki in random locations. Iris was almost always smiling and Miyuki was in either form depending on the magazine. None of them seemed to have connected the two except the conspiracy blogs, which was a good thing. Hardly anyone believed them. Him having an underage bride though, that one needed to be shut down immediately.

He nodded thanks to Iris and then pulled out his own phone to call the PR team. They were aware of the articles and were working furiously to recall all of the copies and to take down the online articles. They weren't even aware of the girl to watch out for this kind of thing, but they were taking care of it. They did warn him he may have to give a press release about the girl though. He was off the phone ten minutes later with a last second meeting scheduled with the lead PR man in an hour to go over everything.

"Ready to go Miyuki?" He stood and looked over at her. The young shifter was in her animal form and munching away on what used to be a salad bigger than she was. She hasn't made a sound during his conversation and he wasn't sure exactly how much she understood. Iris had waved goodbye to him and ran out the door to her morning classes. 

She stretched with her front legs out as far as they could go then shook herself out, bouncing over to him. He reached down and picked her up in his hand. She was still a tiny thing that could fit his forearm. "You're going to spend the day with Gladio while I go and help fix this." she shook her head vigorously side to side. "No? But you like Gladio. Fine, but you will do your studies while in the room. Just because you're being homeschooled here doesn't mean you can slack off." He chuckled as Miyuki wilted in what could only be interpreted as a teenage sigh of resignation. Classes were mandatory for all children, teens, and pets of families that worked in the Citadel. Miyuki didn't get along very well with the humans and there were no shifters her age in the classes so Regis gave her a pass to be homeschooled as long as she kept her grades up with regular tests. She was an average student when she tried, but she hated math like most kids her age, so Clarus was keeping a close eye on her work.

Slipping her into her custom made travel backpack, he called goodbye to Jared and made his way to his office to meet with the PR man.

He was ready to throttle the man ten minutes into their meeting. He wanted to have Miyuki Change in front of a crowd during a press release to show that she's nothing more than a pet. The only thing that stopped Clarus was that despite being more irritating than deciphering Tredd's incident reports, the man was very good at his job. In this case though, he was dead wrong. 

"I'm not going to bring her in front of a crowd just to prove she exists. They'd eat her alive even if she were only in her animal form. As is, the public harrasses any pet in this place and they're worse to those of higher rank. I won't have that for her."

Ignis chose that moment to appear in Clarus's doorway and Clarus had never been happier to see the boy. "Ignis! Perfect timing. Miyuki needed help with the math for her next lesson and I can't explain it well enough for her to catch on. It's been forever since I last studied that subject. Can you do it for me?" He used the moment to catch his breath and calm down to not yell at the PR man any more.

Ignis looked surprised but gave a nod, "Certainly Sir. May I first inquire as to what we are going to do about these accusations? I see George is already here but I would like to know to work with His Highness as well."

Clarus waved him off. "We are figuring that out right now. Miyuki needs more help than I do. It's not like this is the first accusation the Citadel has had and it won't be the last. You can stay and listen if you help her."

Ignis did not like that answer but Clarus watched him move off and start talking quietly to Miyuki. She would point out parts of the equations to him and tap her paw to give her answers. Ignis would nod or shake his head to her responses and explain again if needed.

Thirty minutes later they were still at a stalemate on what to do. Clarus sighed and pushed back his chair from his desk. "This is getting us nowhere. Ignis, what was it you did for your pet to get his rep back after his mishaps?"

Ignis looked up from where he was trying to explain a part to Miyuki again, for what looked like the fifth time to Clarus. "Sir. I had Prompto open a Kwehing account for him and Prompto maintains it with almost daily pictures and stories of Justice's antics trying to fit into his life here at the Citadel. So far it seems to be working. No one has attempted to remove him from my care or propose that he is a danger to the Prince."

"Think he would be up to maintaining another less active one?"

"I'm sure he would, Sir. I'll ask as soon as I see him." 

"Good. There problem solved." He reached for his coffee, long gone cold.

He was about to take a sip when the PR man interrupted. "Problem Not Solved, Sir!" He practically yelled. "That's all well and good for a long term solution, but it doesn't help for the immediate future. You're almost as stubborn as Captain Leonis. You want me to fix this but refuse to work with me on this!" He trailed off into loud mutterings about idiot swordsman. "Fine. You are going to have a press appearance this afternoon. You can leave her out of it, but that Kwehing account must be alive and kicking by the end of it, or I  _ will _ have her in front of the cameras whether or not you want her to be. Am I understood? Good. I will have your statement on your desk in an hour. Good day, Sirs." Clarus watched stunned as the man stormed out of his office.

Clarus shrugged after a moment and turned his attention to his shifter charge. "You will have to Change. I can tell you're driving Ignis mad with your non-answers. Use your words."

One bunny sized sigh of resignation later and the little crypt bunny Changed into her human form. Miyuki glowered at the humans but didn't say anything to contradict her human. She knew she was trying Ignis's patience but she didn't like being human more than necessary. She softened her glare at her human's soft smile. She won't ever admit, but she liked it when he was happy. Any smile he gave was a good thing to her.

Clarus watched Miyuki duck her head to hide behind her hair and smiled wider. She was not used to attention and shied away from it constantly. Prompting her to start talking, he tried to help with her math lessons. He failed miserably but he tried. Ignis was the only reason she started to catch on to any of it.

Forty minutes later the PR man returned and put a statement down onto Clarus's desk. "The press release is in one hour. You are to read this exactly. Do not deviate from it. They will attack, you will not attack back. How is that Kwehing account coming along, Mr. Scientia?"

"Prompto has agreed to it and is setting it up as we speak. It will be completely active before the press release is complete." Ignis replied quickly.

"Good. Any questions? No? I will see you in the press room in one hour, Mr. Amicitia." With that, the man walked out of the office once again.

Clarus shook his head after reading the statement. Very straight forward and barebones. The man was right, The press was going to attack him over these answers. He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of that room without a million questions more than usual shouted at him. He might actually need to prove that Miyuki is his pet instead of just stating it. No, he wasn't going to put her through that. He was going to keep her out of their view as much as possible. They couldn't get to her at the estate or in the citadel and he was going to keep it that way.

Steeling himself he left the office and made his way to the press room.

The media circus was just that, a circus. After every sentence he had reporters and guests yelling questions at him. He tried his best to ignore them, but after the twentieth "Is she your new wife?" being yelled at him, he had had enough.

"No. She is not my wife. She is not anyone's wife. I have answered this already. If you aren't bright enough to understand that then I suggest you leave now." He growled out at the idiots in the room. Lilly would be proud of how ferocious he sounded.

He was about to say something more that he would regret later when there was a wave of silence that washed over the crowd. It started in the front corner with one reporter gasping and turning away from the podium. Slowly the others caught wind of something new and more important happening and turned their own attention to the new intrusion.

He followed their gazes and had to fight back his shock. Miyuki had made her way past all the humans and guards and snuck into the room. She was quivering in the corner of the room by the doors looking around in what could only be a mild panic. As soon as she saw him she bolted for his podium. She was fast for such a small thing, faster than any of the humans in the room.

He knelt down and scooped her up as soon as she jumped into his arms. "What are you doing here?" He whispered to her quietly. He stood up and started petting her soothingly. She was shaking so hard he was worried she might fall out of his arms if he didn't hold her tight enough.

The reporters were going nuts, shouting questions and taking pictures. A few of them tried to get closer to the podium but the guards, and his glare, kept them at bay. He ignored them all and kept on soothing his shivering pet. After a few minutes of this he glared even harder out at the crowd and growled, "As you can see she's my pet. You are to leave her alone at all times. You break that rule, you deal with me. Good day." He glared a moment longer and then strode purposefully out of the room, ignoring the shouts that followed him.

As soon as they were alone he moved her around so he could see her little face. "What were you doing? You know you hate crowds of humans, let alone that many of them."

She shook a little harder for a moment before realizing he was just concerned for her, not angry at her. Slowly, she Changed in his arms. He scrambled to keep her in his arms and not drop her but he succeeded and had her 6'3" form in his arms once again. She looked down at him and quietly said, "My human needed me. You needed me. I couldn't let you do that alone. I was scared, but my human needed me. I can be brave for my human. He is brave every day. I can be brave too." Immediately afterwards her bravery must've dried up because she shifted faster than he had seen in a long time and he had a bunny in his arms once again.

"You did it for me?" He breathed out. Hugging her hard, he started laughing lightly. "You are amazing. You don't have to fight the dragons with me, but I appreciate it. Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?" He crooned at her a bit, though he would never admit to it. 

He scratched behind her ears just the way she liked and walked off to his next appointment.

The headlines the next day were much of the same, shock and awe that Clarus Amicitia had a new pet, but with a confused air that he had feelings for someone other than his King and family. None of them suggested he had a young bride anymore, for which the PR team was very grateful. The press did keep a good distance from him for a while, especially when he was seen with his little bunny shifter. 

The Kwehing account was a huge success, with most of Insomnia following it immediately. Everyone fell in love with Miyuki as soon as they saw her. Her pictures were always tasteful and adorable. Prompto could get the best shots without her shying away from him. He didn't tell anyone that he was taking the photos, but he garnered new followers of his own from fans who recognized his style from her page.

As for Miyuki, she stayed near her large intimidating human and didn't have to stare down the press again. If she did have to appear in public, she was held in a designated guard's arms and not taken anywhere near the humans. She was content with that.

Iris and Miyuki eventually finished Clarus's cake with the help of Ignis in the Prince's suite. There was no flour incident this time despite the Prince wanting to recreate it (Lilly kept him occupied and out of their hair). Clarus was very appreciative of their efforts and ate most of it by himself. He paid for that in the gym for the next week, but it was worth it in his opinion.

Life was worth a bit of lovingly made cake, any day. 


End file.
